On April 11, a conference was held at the National Library Bookn on Prescription – The Impact of Reading Aloud on Children’s Health and Development. The event, as well as the entire program Book on Prescription, within which it was organized, aims to include recommendations for reading to children and parents during medical visits in the prevention of the health of the youngest, but also to support the medical community in the effective implementation of such intervention in medical offices.
The initiative is based on reliable scientific research on child development and the experience of other countries and organizations that have been working in this area for many years.
The conference was attended by a group of international experts. His lecture was delivered live Paul Wise, professor in the field of child health and society and professor of pediatrics at Stanford University. In it, he drew attention to the growing challenges facing healthcare today in the context of the dynamically changing needs of children.
Professor Wise placed particular emphasis on the need to invest in a child's development from the first moments of life - before they enter the education system. He emphasised that it is in early childhood that the foundations of emotional, social and cognitive health are formed, and this period is crucial for preventing mental and developmental problems that we are increasingly seeing in children and adolescents.
Therefore, the role of the health system is to integrate developmental interventions more strongly – speech therapists, occupational therapists, child development specialists, pediatricians, family doctors – should create an environment based on cooperation. Their action is also part of social policy.
One of the simplest and most effective tools for supporting development, indicated by the professor, is reading together – a practice that not only stimulates linguistic and cognitive development, but also helps children build a sense of security, develop empathy, the ability to establish relationships and cope with difficulties, strengthens parent-child relationships, and supports mental resilience in the face of children's changing needs today, as well as the challenges of growing up.
The importance of early intervention in the form of dialogical reading was confirmed in his lecture Prof. Barry Zuckerman from Boston Medical Center, member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who was the first pediatrician to begin prescribing prescription books, making them available in his offices and encouraging others to do the same.
Prof. Zuckerman pointed out that, in addition to smoking and obesity, the length of education is one of the conditions that influence life expectancy. According to the report of the National Academy of Medicine in the United States, the ability to read and write is a key element here, due to the sequence of literacy and learning, which begins in the first years after birth.
The necessity of early introduction of the activity of reading aloud with a child from birth is confirmed by research on brain development. Prof. Zuckerman referred to the experience of his country in including reading recommendations in pediatric care, indicating appropriate methods and tools for introducing such intervention in practice. The presented multi-year studies of the Reach Out & Read foundation confirmed the effectiveness of these activities, which influenced the well-being of patients and equalized their developmental opportunities.
The development of the brain in relation to another person, especially language development, was presented from a psycholinguistic perspective Prof. Dr. Hab. Ewa Haman. The professor pointed to the importance of a rich semantic environment, as well as the active participation of the child in communication with an adult. Research was presented indicating the connection between these elements and reading aloud. The expert also raised the issue of at what early stage and in what way such activity begins to bring results, citing data from which it can be concluded that it is worth taking these actions as early as possible. During the lecture, Prof. Haman also pointed to equalizing socioeconomic opportunities by enriching children's linguistic environment through reading books. Research indicates a gap of 30 million words that children hear, in relation to readers and non-readers in the first three years of life.
The conference also featured the experiences of Polish practitioners and doctors involved in incorporating reading recommendations into pediatric care and health prevention. Doctor Magdalena Ossolińska, responsible for the substantive care of the programme Book on Prescription, spoke about securing the emotional and psychological needs of children as one of the goals of balance tests. She pointed to promoting reading as a health prevention and supporting the proper, holistic development of the youngest, which should take place during such visits to offices. Presenting the history, foundations and assumptions of the entire initiative of the Universal Reading Foundation involving the medical community, Dr. Ossolińska emphasized the value of such activities for patients and for doctors themselves. Instructional materials and the experience of a practitioner were to confirm that the introduction of such an intervention, apart from being very necessary, is possible in Polish offices.
A neuroscientific perspective on implementing early reading intervention for children was presented by Prof. Maryanne Wolf of UCLA, showing her work also in the context of supporting pediatricians and in contacts with parents of small children. She pointed out the importance of learning to read, the related brain activity, primarily in the first 5 years of life. This is particularly important in the era of rapidly developing digital culture, the various aspects and challenges of which were also raised by the expert. The professor also linked her own experiences, as well as the research of other speakers confirming them, with the economic aspects of promoting reading. "It is important for decision-makers to know that the return on investment of public money in the development of citizens will most likely be the greatest if it is made in the first years of life," said Prof. Wolf.
Recommending reading in medical offices requires the presence of books. He spoke about securing hospital collections and the presence of books in health care facilities. Dr. Maciej Wieczorek. An expert from the Library Collections Conservation Laboratory operating within the Institute for the Conservation of Library Collections at the National Library presented the principles of handling books in such specific conditions, as well as the conditions for storing, disinfecting and using the collections. These are important issues that are of great importance to the medical community, who want to enable patients to have contact with books, but also to teachers, librarians, educators working in hospital facilities and with chronically ill children.
Program Book on Prescription is not only to encourage doctors and all medical staff to recommend reading, but also to facilitate such intervention. The practical aspects of working with children, as well as communication with their parents and guardians were discussed by Monika Działowska, MD, author of the profile @pediatranazdrowie, who educates on the topics of children's health and development, is actively involved in the promotion of reading. Sharing her experience, she talked about inviting to reading in various situations, taking into account many life situations, as well as the needs of patients.
The lecture also concerned why and how to recommend books not only because of the impact of reading on linguistic and intellectual development, but also in many other pediatric indications, such as familiarizing with difficult topics, preparing for changes related to subsequent stages of life and development, as well as in situations of developmental disorders and mental well-being, emotional stability. There was also an indication of the value of reading together, which is building a relationship with an adult.
The entire medical community should be involved in recommending reading – from pediatricians, family doctors, and other specialists working with children, through bibliotherapists, psychologists, but also nurses and midwives. The inclusion of this group in recommending reading to young and future parents was discussed by Katarzyna Humeniuk, presenting the program "Small book, great man", implemented by the Book Institute. This is a very broad campaign, covering many stages, the first of which is aimed at newborns. The campaign is carried out in hospitals, in maternity wards throughout Poland. The initiative also includes training for midwives, in which the Universal Reading Foundation is also involved, and Prescription book. So far, out of 100 participants, 98% have rated it positively, pointing primarily to the very high substantive quality of the course. This year, it is planned to train almost 2,000 midwives.
After the lecture part, practical workshops were held, led by experts from the School of Leadership. The first one was devoted to how to choose books for children so that the reading recommendation intervention is effective. The classes included familiarization with books that meet the changing needs and competences - semantic, visual and social - of children. The next workshop concerned communication with non-reading caregivers and parents of children - what to pay attention to, how to conduct a conversation inviting to read, what tools and methods to use.
Conference participants Book on Prescription received certificates awarded with OIL educational points.
The event was organized by the Universal Reading Foundation and the National Library. The conference was held under the patronage of the Polish Pediatric Society and the District Medical Chamber in Warsaw. Training partners: National Center for Culture, Book Institute, Practical Medicine, Medelight, PZWL, PULS Magazine of the District Medical Chamber in Warsaw.
The organizers would like to thank the speakers, experts and participants for participating in the conference.
More information about the program Book on Prescription available on: www.ksiazkanarecepte.pl
